Akhnaton was born in the beautiful Charuk palace, in Thebes, in or shortly after1395 B.C.,-(some scholars place his birth a few years later.)At the young age of 12, Akhnaton was crowned King of Egypt. Records show that in the beginning, he merely reigned, while his Mitanni Mother, Queen Tiy, governed.The King of the Mitanni, King Dashratha (Dushratta),writing to congratulate him on his accession, addresses himself to Queen Tiy, not to Akhnaton directly. Even in later letters of this period, Dashratha writes to Akhnaton advising him to"refer to his mother" about important matters.

Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and one of their six daughters receive the grace of Aton, the solar disc, in this excerpt from a famous mural.

The evidence proving the Vedic influence-via the Mitanni- on Akhnaton is beyond questioning. In fact, not only were a majority of his relatives Mitanni, his wife was also a Mitanni princess, the daughter of King Dashratta, the famous Nefertiti. It is a well known fact that she, along with Akhnaton, were acting in the role of High Priest and Preistess in the religion of Aton. It has erroneously been stated that Aton's worship was"invented" by pharaoh Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten. However, beginning with Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep III, Aten enjoyed a higher level of worship.

At the age of eighteen years, he came into complete power of the Kingdom. It was at this time that he proclaimed his faith in One God-The Sun, which he designated by the name of Aton, ie. The Disk or Fiery Orb. He publicly proclaimed his faith in Aton, as the God of Gods. Some have claimed that as a Sun worshipper, Akhnaton was more of an Animist Nature worshiper rather than a devotee of a Supreme Godhead. However Akhnaton's own words confirm that this is not the case. Akhnaton spoke of the Sun disk asbeing the Eye of Aton and a representative of Aton's Power. In the Bhagavad Gita, the Sun is described as one of the unlimited eyes of God's Universal Form. In the Brahma-Samhita the Sun is also described as the Eye of God.Akhnaton's reverance of the Sun is properly understood in this context.

The symbol of Aton, as presented by Akhnaton, was an image of the Sun Disc with many sunrays extending out, ending in hands, in a kind of triangle shape. Some scholars have also pointed out that the shape of the Pyramids represents the Sun's beams shining down to Earth, in a triangle shape, with the top being the Source and spreading out ever wider as it reaches the Earth.

The similarity between Akhnaton's Aton and Surya is indeed striking. The Sanskrit description of the Divine source of light corresponds perfectly with the picture of Aton given in the Egyptian King's hymns.

"As the Vivifier and Quickener, He raises His long arms of gold in the morning, rouses all beings from their slumber, infuses energy into them, and buries them in sleep in the evening." (From a Vedic prayer to Sun God.) This description also fits perfectly with the carvings of Aton as the Solar disc extending its golden arms to the Earth. Archeologists have confirmed that all these images and engravings were covered in gold at one time.

Also according to Akhnaton, Aton as the Supreme Godhead, was imbued with both the male and female principles. He says to Aton,"Father and Mother of all that You have made." This paralels with the Vedic terms for the Sun,Savita(male) and Savitri(female)or the Sun and the Sun's energy.

Akhnaton's Hymn to Aton also shows a remarkable scientific understanding of the Sun's role in the functioning of life on the planet as a whole. Some see his religion as " a philosophic and scientific revolt against religion," rather than a new religion. One scholar, H.R.Hall sees Akhnaton as "History's first scientific mind," due to his scientific understanding of the Sun and its relation with the organic world. However, those versed in Vedic Spirituality know that true religion is based on scientific principles of reality. As a follower of Vedic Dharma, Akhnaton was aware of this and many other scientific and spiritual facts.

Accompanying Akhnaton's name in every inscription of his reign, apart from the early ones, is the term "Ankh-em-Maat" or "Living in Truth." In a tomb of one of his followers an inscription was found, "The King has put the truth into me, and to lie is an abomination." (From the tomb of a courtier named Ay.) As we know Satya, or Truth, is also one of the main points in Vedic culture. To this very day the motto of India/Bharat is "Satyam Eva Jayate."

I see it as a powerful affirmation of the truth, that the most spectacular and famous find in Egyptian history was the discovery of the tomb of Akhnaton's son, Tutankhamon. The Universe has a wonderful way of bringing Truth and Justice to light. After Akhnaton's death, the priests of Amon, did their best to obliterate the memory of Akhnaton and his religion of Aton. All his monuments and inscriptions were torn down and the stones were all reused. However this very act of desecration is the very thing that has preserved Akhnaton's story for thousands of years. When all of his inscriptions and carvings were reused, they were hidden away from not only the eyes of the Egyptian people, but also from the erosive effects of the environment. The newly carved inscriptions and carvings of his enemies soon withered away under the effects of the sun, wind and rain.

Another important point to remember, is that modern scholars, though able to understand Egyptian hieroglyphics, they are only guessing at the pronunciation. They have no way to ascertain the vowel sounds as spoken by the ancient Egyptians. Thus we come across such a variety of spellings of terms like Ra or Re, Ikhnaton, Akhnaton, Akhnaten, Aten, Aton, Yiten etc. The fact is, it was only through the discovery of the Rosetta stone,that scholars were able to finally understand the hieroglyphics. They were able to compare them with the other two known languages on the stone. IF ONLY THE SCHOLARLY WORLD COULD UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THAT THE VEDIC RECORD IS THE ROSSETA STONE TO ALL THE MYSTERIES OF HISTORY, SCIENCE AND CULTURE.

 

AKHNATON'S HYMN TO THE SUN GOD, ATON

"Thou risest beautifully on the horizon of heaven, O great god Aton, initiator of life! When thou dost form thy circle on the horizon, thou fillest the earth with thy beauties. Thou are delightful and sublime, shining high above the earth. Thy rays envelop for all time the lands and all thou hast created.

Since thou art Ra, Creator, thou win what they give and thou bindest it with the bonds of thy love again. Thou art far, but thy rays are on earth. The earth is in darkness when thou rests, as if dead while away from thee, thou hast slipped behind the horizon west. Men sleep in their rooms, their heads wrapped and not an eye sees another man. All their goods, put beneath them, could be stolen without their feeling it.

And then every lion comes out of his cave; every snake bites. It is dark as in an oven. The earth is silent; for he who created it all is at rest in his horizon. But the dawn comes, thou risest, thou shinest as Aton of the Day; when thou sendest forth thy shafts, the darkness is banished away. The Two Lands of Egypt make merry.

Men awake, and leap to their feet: it is thou who makest them rise up. They wash their limbs and eat, and they take up their clothing. Their hands worship thy rising; the Whole Land sets to work in the glory that thy rays bring. All the beasts are content at pasture. The trees and plants grow. Birds fly in the brake, with wings uplifted in the worship of thy Ka. All the wild beasts leap; all things that flutter and fly live again in the rays thou place upon the earth when thou risest for them. The boats so up and down the river; when thou risest, all roads open for thee. The fish in the river leap toward thee; thy rays go down into the depths of the sea.

Thou risest up children in women, and createst the seed in men; thou feedest the child in its mother's belly, soothe and feed him, and thou send the breath of life into all creatures and man, and satisfy his needs. Thou bringest the chick from his shell and give thy strength to every seed. How numerous are thy works, all that thou has created, O thou, unequaled one! By they heart thou hast created the earth, all that exists, by thy will is done, on earth, in all foreign countries. Thou settest each man in his place, createst all needs, words, and property, his forms and his variations of face. Thou makest the Nile in the Lower World, and bringest it where thou wilt to feed men.

Thou art loved of all, the Lord of this land, thy Disk of Day hast cared for them. Thou hast set all in place of the forms of earth. How excellent are they great designs. When thou risest, all grows for thee. For every area, thy rays, milk finds. Thou makest the seasons of the year. Thou hast created the distant sky. Thou comest in thy form of living Aton, rising radiant, goest away, by and by, thou returnest. Thou drawest all forms. Every eye beholds thee above. Thy son alone understands thee; thou art in my heart . . . issued from thy flesh, Ikhanaton."